Packers’ QB choices if Jordan Love damage is severe

Sean Clifford has accomplished precisely one regular-season move throughout his Inexperienced Bay Packers profession, which is another than Malik Willis has for the workforce he joined solely final week.

These are the Packers’ two in-house choices if the obvious left leg damage quarterback Jordan Love sustained within the closing seconds of Friday’s 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles retains him out of the Week 2 sport towards the Indianapolis Colts and past.

Clifford, who backed up Love final season and hit Bo Melton for a 37-yard completion in Week 17 towards the Minnesota Vikings on the one move try of his rookie season, must be elevated or signed from the follow squad if the Packers wished to go that route. However the Packers didn’t suppose sufficient of Clifford to present him a second yr as QB2, and after a coaching camp battle between him and rookie Michael Pratt, they traded a seventh-round choose to the Titans for Willis on Aug. 26.

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The Packers felt Willis discovered sufficient of the offense in lower than two weeks in Inexperienced Bay to function Love’s backup for the opener. He took the ultimate two snaps towards the Eagles after Love’s damage. The 2022 third-round choose by the Tennessee Titans threw an incomplete move and was sacked on the sport’s closing play. Clifford reportedly made the journey to São Paulo with the workforce however was not elevated to the roster for the sport.

Packers normal supervisor Brian Gutekunst selected to not signal a veteran backup throughout the offseason as a result of he preferred how Clifford performed final summer time in his rookie preseason and thought the strong-armed Pratt, a seventh-round choose from Tulane, may present good competitors.

However Clifford struggled early in camp whereas Love was sitting out follow ready for his contract extension to be finalized, and Pratt did not play nicely sufficient for the Packers to maintain him.

“I believe actually there have been some underwhelming performances at occasions,” Gutekunst stated after closing cuts when requested in regards to the Clifford-Pratt competitors.

Each quarterbacks went unclaimed on waivers after these cuts have been made. Whereas Clifford returned to the Packers’ follow squad, Pratt joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ follow squad.

Willis began three video games as a Titans rookie in 2022 and Tennessee went 1-2. Willis then appeared in solely three video games in a backup position for them final season.

“I believe that was one factor this preseason — as we monitor guys via the early phases of their profession — the one factor we noticed, significantly with this new teaching employees in Tennessee, is how a lot he progressed throughout the offense enjoying from the pocket and making performs that manner,” Gutekunst stated upon buying Willis.

“Once more, this will likely be new for him, and clearly the quarterback place, it will take a bit of little bit of time. However on the identical time, simply actually enthusiastic about the place his development has taken him up to now and the place he’ll go, significantly beneath our group.”

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Certainly, Gutekunst by no means thought they would want to speed up his development to doubtlessly begin in Week 2.

The final time the Packers had a veteran former beginning quarterback on the roster as a backup was in 2021 with Blake Bortles. He hung out with the Packers (when Aaron Rodgers skipped the offseason program that yr) and got here again to the follow squad that November to again up Love, who began towards the Chiefs as a result of Rodgers was out due to COVID-19.

The out-of-work veteran NFL quarterback checklist now contains Ryan Tannehill, Trevor Siemian, Kellen Mond, Nate Sudfeld, C.J. Beathard and PJ Walker.

An damage to Love in his first sport since signing his four-year, $220 million contract, which tied him for the highest-paid participant within the league, is the worst-case situation. Love appeared to expertise lower-leg cramps throughout Friday’s sport, and a number of other gamers, together with Love, had bother with their footing and slipped. There was no cause to suppose both factored in his damage.

“Yeah, that was robust to see,” Packers defensive sort out Kenny Clark informed reporters in Brazil. “That is the franchise proper there. Hopefully, he could be again subsequent week and he could be all proper.”